Chapter 90
Chapter 90
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 90
Chapter Title: The Price of a Debt
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Three knocks, then two, and after a pause, three more. It was the signal that someone had come to the hideout of the thief guild, ‘Kaleidoscope.’
*Probably here to request a job.*
Skilled criminal guilds demanded high fees, and for those who couldn't afford them, there were small-fry guilds like this one.
With that thought, Baker, a low-ranking thief, went out to greet the client. A man in a black robe stood outside.
“What brings you here?”
“I've come with a request.”
His face was hidden by the hood, but his voice sounded somewhat young.
“Ah, you've come to the right place!”
The low-ranking thief, Baker, continued with a smile.
“We at ‘Kaleidoscope’ are like genies who grant our clients' wishes!”
“…Can you kill people?”
“Of course!”
Baker exclaimed loudly.
“From things you want stolen to people you want killed, or even strangling someone to get the information you desire!”
All this, of course, was under the assumption that the job was within their capabilities and the client could pay the appropriate price. After Baker's friendly explanation, the robed man nodded.
“No one whose name is written in our guild's death list can escape.”
“That's very reassuring.”
After nodding, the man spoke.
“Every member of Kaleidoscope.”
In that windless place, his black robe fluttered.
“That is the ‘death list’ I desire.”
“…?”
“Because you all have a debt to pay.”
Dale spat out the words without a hint of emotion. And before the low-ranking thief, Baker, could even begin to understand…
*Shunk!*
Something plunged into his throat.
“Gack, gurgle!”
A blade of shadow, dark as pitch, slender, and gleaming with a cold edge. The shadow didn't stop there. After tearing through his neck, it began to move into his body, like a living creature.
A Shadow Parasite.
“K-kieeeeeek!”
A scream that could not have belonged to this world echoed out.
***
The thieves' guild hideout. The robed man appeared where several thieves were drinking along the bar.
“Wh-who's that guy? How did he get in here…”
A client shouldn't be able to get this far. The next moment, seeing the bloodstains on the man's robe, the thieves' instincts screamed.
“Intruder, it's an attack!”
Proving they weren't thieves in name only, a volley of hidden weapons flew through the air. Their speed was absurd.
*Clang!*
But not a single one reached the man. The black robe fluttered, forming a pitch-black shield that deflected all the weapons. It was not a blade, but a solid shield.
Dale wasn't the only one who had grown upon reaching the 4th Circle. His artifact, the Shadow Cloak, was no exception.
“This is my domain.”
Dale muttered coldly, and a lake of darkness spread out, as if to submerge the entire hideout.
“D-dark magic!”
Standing on the shadows, the members of Kaleidoscope gasped in bewilderment.
“Kill him! Close the distance and kill that damn mage!”
A few mid-level thieves made a quick decision and charged across the lake of darkness. The next moment, 'things' lurking within the lake broke their silence.
《Shadow Lurker》.
*Shunk!*
Just as the thieves kicked off the ground and charged forward, thorny tentacles shot up from directly beneath their feet. The tentacles pierced them, starting from the groin and going all the way up to their brains and skulls. Much like the impalement stakes of Vlad Tepes.
The thieves' bodies were frozen in mid-air.
“Gack, gurgle…! Keuk!”
There wasn't just one 'Shadow Lurker' hiding in the shadows. With his growth to the 4th Circle, they too had matured into much larger 'adults.'
A hell of thorns.
The lurkers in the shadows began to unleash their thorny tentacles all at once, from the lake of darkness that had enveloped the entire thieves' guild hideout.
“H-h-help me!”
“Aaaaargh!”
A massacre by the Shadow Lurkers. There were no exceptions. Lumps of flesh were torn to shreds, unrecognizable. Severed limbs, necks, and entrails lay scattered about.
Amidst the gore, like a scene from a third-rate slasher film, Dale turned his head.
“H-hiiik…!”
Towards the one high-level thief who had survived until the very end, the one who called himself the 'Guild Master.'
“W-why are you doing this to us!”
Dale walked over calmly. The Guild Master of the thieves' guild asked again, whimpering like a child. He had no fight left in him.
Their levels were different. He was an overwhelmingly powerful being that a small fry like him couldn't even dare to look up to.
Within the lake of darkness that dominated the area, all he could do was tremble, not understanding a thing, and beg for his life.
“A few years ago, thieves from your guild came to the frozen lands of Sachsen.”
“...!”
Dale began to speak.
It was a request that ‘Kaleidoscope’ could never forget, and upon hearing those words, the master understood immediately.
“D-don't tell me, you're from House Sachsen…”
Dale tilted his head and asked.
“Did the name Sachsen seem that laughable to you?”
The infamy of Duke Sachsen's house.
“Did the name of my house seem so trivial that it could be justified for a thousand gold coins?”
Despite that infamy, they had been blinded by the wealth offered by the Holy Sword Master and accepted the request. Only now were they paying the price.
“Ha, haha…”
The master of the thieves' guild ‘Kaleidoscope’ trembled and let out a hollow laugh.
That's right. His opponent was none other than 'House Sachsen.' The clan of darkness that ruled the frozen north, the head of those very monsters.
“You should have thought more carefully about what that meant.”
“You monstrous son of a bitch…”
The Guild Master of Kaleidoscope spat out a curse in resignation.
“Shadow Bullet.”
Dale also muttered briefly. Shadow bullets poured out endlessly from seven black barrels.
「Black Barrel」, 「Gatling Style」.
As if to say that in projecting an image from another world, no further cumbersome modifiers were needed.
***
Some time later.
News of the carnage that took place in the ‘Kaleidoscope’ thieves' guild hideout spread. Faced with the hellish scene, people were left speechless.
And amidst the carnage, a single piece of black cloth had been left behind.
A piece of cloth embroidered with a night raven… the crest symbolizing Duke Sachsen's house.
***
The city hall of Arte di Calimala.
When Dale appeared once again in a room of that very office, the master of the Calimala Guild greeted him with the largest security force he could muster.
He remembered the tragedy that had occurred in the back-alley thieves' guild not long ago. He was, of course, well aware of the meaning of the black cloth left there.
Night Raven. The crest symbolizing Duke Sachsen's house.
“There's no need to be so guarded.”
Dale smiled as if to say there was nothing to worry about.
“They simply had a debt to settle from long ago.”
“A-a debt to settle, you say.”
The Calimala Guild Master asked cautiously.
“As I said, I believe I've given you ample time to consider my proposal.”
Dale said.
“However, might it not be a bit awkward for outsiders to overhear?”
“…”
A flicker of agitation crossed the Guild Master's face. But his value as the master of the Calimala Guild could not be compared to that of a mere thieves' guild.
“Everyone, withdraw.”
After some thought, the Guild Master spoke. The guards protecting him bowed in unison and left the room.
That day, Dale had made a proposal as the representative of House Sachsen.
Help him become the City Master in the name of Sachsen, and in return, grant him access to the City Master's 'ledger.' He had already weighed the pros and cons countless times.
And the Calimala Guild Master had come to a decision.
“Before I accept your proposal, there is something I'd like to ask.”
“Please, go ahead.”
“That ledger… Surely House Sachsen and you, my lord, are not unaware of its significance.”
The City Master's ledger.
The flow of legal and illegal business funds across the entire continent. A complete list of nobles indebted to the Guild City. Furthermore, how many swords were sold and to whom, where they were scheduled to be sold, and who had incurred debt to purchase how many swords.
With a single glance at a page of the ledger, predicting where a war might break out would be a simple matter.
The true power of the Guild City came from holding that information, and what Dale was demanding was the very heart of that information and trust.
“There's no such thing as a free lunch.”
Dale replied as if it were someone else's business.
“What is House Sachsen's objective?”
At that question, Dale fell silent for a moment.
“To make Black great again.”
After the silence, Dale answered.
“That is the only thing I desire.”
Silence fell once more. But it was not a silence of conflict or hesitation.
“I accept House Sachsen's proposal.”
After steeling his resolve, the Calimala Guild Master spoke.
“You won't regret it.”
Dale smiled and bowed politely. In the Guild City, Dale's journey had just crossed its first ridge.
***
To become the City Master, one needed the consent of four of the seven guild masters, and one could never vote for oneself. Thus, each guild master was required to vote for one of the others.
That was why the decision of who became City Master was so closely intertwined with the 'Black Market'...
It was also a place where the representatives of the great nobles gathered to use their influence to make a guild master of their liking the 'next City Master.' An unseen struggle.
*I'm probably not the only one.*
But there weren't many who could dare to rival the name of House Sachsen.
The great lords of the Empire, you could count them on one hand. And among them, the one to be most wary of was the Empire itself.
With the Empire, the Emperor, and furthermore, the Red Magic Tower backing them, their 'representative' would also be making contact.
But that wasn't something to worry about right now. Having left the 'City of Calimala,' Dale was now heading toward the 'City of Lana.'
'Arte della Lana'.
One of the seven great guilds, and one of the seven cities of the Guild City. He was heading toward the symbol of the underworld located there.
The Fight Club. An underground arena where fighters staked their lives.
There was only one reason for the noble young lord to step into such a place.
Just as he had demonstrated his infamy to the Calimala Guild through ‘Kaleidoscope,’ displaying the power of a representative was an essential task in deciding the next City Master.
In that regard, there was no more suitable place than a no-rules underground arena.
Dale wouldn't be the only one with such thoughts, and the matches that would take place in the Fight Club would be more than just scraps between small fries.
It was a gathering place for the representatives of great nobles from all over the continent who had received invitations to the Black Market, and a testing ground where they could display their 4th Circle abilities without restraint. Defeating them would be the surest way to prove the name of Duke Sachsen's house.
By defeating the representative of the Empire, the Emperor… and the Red Magic Tower.